From letters to literacy: Using classroom assessment to guide learning

Being able to read with comprehension is one of the most fundamental skills a student can acquire in school. Reading opens the door to academic and lifelong learning, acquiring and mastering new skills, and improving overall human capital.  Despite its importance, millions of students—particularly in low- and middle-income contexts—struggle to master the basics of reading.

A new World Bank note on classroom assessment to support foundational literacy and its additional infographic provide practical recommendations for policymakers, teachers and other stakeholders. This document highlights how classroom assessments can be used to support literacy development, track student reading progress, and improve teaching strategies in the early years of schooling. This note comes to complement existing resources part of the literacy policy package developed by the World Bank.

Why focus on classroom assessment for early grade reading?

Before students can read to learn, they must first learn to read. The early years of schooling are critical for developing foundational literacy skills, such as being able to recognize letters and their sounds, to read words and simple sentences fluently, and to understand and interpret written text. Without these skills, it is unlikely that students will reach their learning potential and achieve success in school.

In this context, classroom assessment plays a vital role in helping teachers monitor each student’s reading progress, identify those who need extra support in the acquisition of these skills, and adjust instruction accordingly. Unlike large-scale assessments, which provide broad system-level insights, classroom assessments are immediate, interactive, and tailored to individual student needs.

How classroom assessment supports literacy development

The note emphasizes that classroom assessments for early grade reading can serve multiple purposes:

• Identifying where students are in their reading journey. Are students struggling with letter recognition? Can they make sense of simple words? Understanding these details helps teachers tailor their instruction and meet students where they are.
• Providing timely feedback to students. When students know what they need to improve and how to do it, they become more engaged and motivated in their learning process.
• Adjusting teaching strategies. Teachers can modify lesson plans based on assessment results, ensuring that students receive the right support at the right time.

A flexible tool for learning, not just grading

One of the key messages from the guidance note is that classroom assessment practices should not be equated to a rigid, standardized test, but as a flexible set of resources and activities that can foster the teaching and learning process. Unlike standardized exams, which measure learning at a single point in time, classroom assessments can be:

• Diagnostic – Helping teachers understand students’ prior knowledge before introducing new material.
• Formative – Providing continuous feedback to guide instruction and learning.
• Summative – Measuring overall student progress at the end of a learning unit or learning period.

Each type of assessment plays a role, but success happens when they are used to foster learning, rather than simply measure it. When used effectively, these assessments empower teachers to create a supportive learning environment where all students have an opportunity to thrive and understand where they are and what they need to improve to continue their learning journey.

Strengthening teachers’ assessment competencies

For policymakers, the note highlights that to be truly effective, teachers need the right training and tools to implement classroom assessment activities. Teachers play a critical role in shaping students’ learning experiences, and their ability to effectively assess and respond to student progress is essential—especially in the early grades when foundational reading skills are being developed. However, many teachers receive limited or no instruction on how to design and use assessments in their classrooms. This guidance note emphasizes the importance of:

• Integrating assessment training into teacher education programs. Teachers should have opportunities to learn how to assess early grade reading skills as part of their professional development. This training should include specific content on classroom assessment approaches, hands-on activities developing learning assessments, and practical experiences implementing assessment in classrooms.
• Providing accessible, easy-to-use assessment tools. Even when teachers understand the importance of assessment, they need accessible tools and guidance to put it into practice. Clear guidelines, scoring rubrics, creating digital assessments banks with ready-to-use activities, and instructional materials help teachers make the most of classroom assessments.
• Ensuring alignment with curriculum goals. Classroom assessments should be directly linked to early grade reading milestones, ensuring consistency in teaching and learning. When assessments are aligned with early grade reading milestones, they help teachers track student progress systematically.
• Strengthening a culture of assessment for learning. Teachers need to see assessment not as a bureaucratic task, but as an integral part of effective teaching. Assessment should not just measure learning—it should support learning by providing insights that help teachers tailor instruction, give constructive feedback, and empower students to take charge of their own learning.

A call to action: Building stronger readers through better assessment

If we want to ensure that all children can read fluently by the end of primary school, we need effective classroom assessment practices that support teachers and students alike. This guidance note supported by the Foundational Learning Compact (FLC) Trust Fund offers practical strategies, real-world examples, and recommendations to improve literacy assessment in classrooms worldwide. Whether you’re an educator looking to enhance your teaching practice, a policymaker shaping education strategies, or a researcher exploring literacy development, this document will provide valuable insights.

Source: blogs.worldbank